Fire-extinguisher.



.PATENTED JULY 10 1906.

H. E. SAFFORD, FIRE EXTINGUISHER APPLICATION FILED JULY 3, 1905.

` A v all INVlNTOR WITNESSES n afi@ ` UNITE STA ne afrnfr orrion HARRYE. SAFFORD, OF ALLEGHENY, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE- THIRD TO ALFREDREED HAMILTON, OF ALLEGHENY, PENNSYLVANIA.

FIREBEXTINGUISHER.

No. 825,868. v

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 10, 1906.

Application tiled July 3, 1905. Serial No. 268,046.

T0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that LHARRY E. SAFFORD, a resident of Allegheny, in thecounty of Allegheny and State of Penns lvania, have invented anew anduseful mprovement in Fire-Extinguishers; and I do hereby declare thefollowing to be a full, clear, and exact descri tion thereof.

l\` y invention relates to fire-extinguishers, and more especially tocertain improvements in that class of tire-extinguishers shown anddescribed in United States Letters Patent Nos. 439,565 and 664,898,granted to me on October 28, 1890, and on January 1, 1901, respectively,and in which the Huid is contained within a suitable reservoir and isexpelled therefrom when needed by compressed air or other staple gasconfined witlnn said reservoir or by a pump should the compressed airfail to work.

The object of the present invention is to insure Ithe tire-extinguisherof working the chemicals therein at all times and overcome liability ofthe chemicals working the machine, thereby im )roving such forni of a{ireextinguisher in otiier respects; and the invention consists,generally stated, in the novel arrangement, construction, andcombination ot' parts. as hereinafter more specifically set forth anddescribed, aml particularly pointed out in the claims.

To enable others skilled in the art to which my invention appertains toconstruct and use my improved tire-extinguisher, I will describe thesame more fully, referring to the accompanying drawings, in which-Figure 1 is a vertical central section ot my improved iire-extinguisher.Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical section ol' the lower end of thevalve-controlled rod and showing its manner of connection with thevalve.

Like symbols ot'Y reference herein indicate like parts in each of thetigures of the drawings.

T he reservoir u may .le ot' any convenient size or shape and isconstructed ot` copper or other suitable metal. An opening o is formedin the head oi the reservoir a, and within said opening is inserted thecollar b, Said collar having the flange b', adapted to engage with theinner faces oll the top ot' the reservoir (L around said opening.

A. jam-nut 5 b2 engages with the external threads of said l collar andacts Vto hold said collar in position,

the flanges b of said collar being drawn up against the innerface of thereservoir by tightening said jam-nut. Solder is placed around the flan eb to make the joint airtight, and a was er b3 is placed between theupper end of the collar band lange d of the pumps D, located above thereservoir o. A section of tubing c en a es with the internal threads ofthe collar eing sweated therein, and said tubing extends down within thereservoir to a point below the liquid-line. In this manner air-tightjoints are' provided.

The air-chamber d of the ump D has the threaded portion d', adapted) toengage with the internal threads of the collar b. The pump-barrel d hasits u per end screwed into the air-chamber d. he' air-chamber d isprovided with the outlet-port d3, having the hose connection d. Apiston-rod e has the threads e formed thereon, adapted to engage withthe threaded neck e2 of the airchamber d The upper end of the pistonrodor stern e is provided with the handle e4. 'At the lower end of the rodeis the cage f, having the openings f This cage f incloses the ball orvalve f2, which is adapted to rest on the valve-seat h of the piston h,said piston h screwing into the threaded seat in the. cage The cage f,which carries the valve f 2 andthe piston h, is connected to thepiston-rod e b a universal joint 1,which is composed of a iead 2, havinga nipple 2 extending up from the saine for being connected within thelower end of the ipe forming said rod, and within this head is t ie slot3 for conlning a lip 3 on the movable portion 3 of said joint, whilesuch lip is pivotally held in said slot by a pin 3,whieh extends throughsaid head and lip. The head 2 is provided with a like slot in the lowerend of the same and at rightangles to the slotZ/t'or confining a lip 4,formed on the upper end of the cage f, which lip is pivotally held inits slot by a pin 4', which )asses through said head 2 and said lip 4.his piston h may be provided with suitable annular grooves h2 for thereception of the packing h3. The piston h has the concave seat 'i formedtherein, the face of said seat having ribs or corrugations formedthereon, and while I have illustrated these ribs or corrugations asregular and at regular intervals I do not wish to limit myself to anyparticular form, as a serrated or roughened face might be employed withlike effect,

IOO

, clesed by the valve m. o The valvejml has the v as wintm'aalnfmme@@pas The.'

lower extension fk! of 'the pump-barrel is screwed onto the `threadedend Z ci the nipr i ple l, the upperend of sadnpple having the convexface mwhich'is'also provided with corrugations or ribscorresponding tothose- 1 of the concave seat' ofthe piston, so that reservoir around theopening ta, is held in when said lpiston is inengagement with the vvalvesaid concave seat will lit over` thecoll.- v vex faceof the valve likeahood, the corrugations meshing or interlocking in such a way that whenthe iston is turned the valve also will be-compel ed to'turn. The valveI1z0/has the stem'fm,3 passing down through the nipi ple, a sto fm,4lbeing secured on said stem to regulate t e upward movement of said.valve. The valve m rests upon the packing-ring n, of leather or othersuitable material, an having the opening fn, corresponding with theopening in the nipple. In order to hold said a'cking-ring securely inposition, I form in he nipple Z a recess. or groovel o. The packing-ringis then forced down into the nipple, and by pressure applied thereto itsouter edges are `i'orced into the recess o in such a way that saidpacking-ring is held securely in place against any vertical movement orliability of its turning when the valve is turned in the manner morefully 'hereinafter set forth. This packing-ring n provides an excellentseat for the valve to rest upon, as the valve when forced down intoplaceforms a very tight 'ointwith said packing-rin 4 and prevents leaage. Furthermore, the ower end of the pump-barrel u on being screweddown into the nipple Z llijas its lower end forced into contact vwiththe packing-ring in such a way as to form a very tight joint, so thatthe necessity of soldering the pump- A barrel at its lower end toprevent leakage is obviated. The lower end of the pump-bar- Irel notonly aids in holding ythe packing-ring securely in position, lbut atlthe same time packs the joint made by the pump-barrel with the nipple,which makes it easy to make repairs or inspect the valve without thenecessity of removing anysolder.

Extending down within the reservoir a is the charging-tube p, said tubescrewing into the nipple p and being sweated' therein. The nipple p hasthe annular flan e192, adapted to englag'e the inner face of t ereservoir around tl e opening g. A j am-nut 1' engages with the threadson` the outer end of the nipple and acts to hold said nipple securel inplace, with the flange podrawn up tightly against the innerface of t ereservoir. Solder `is placed around the ange 2. A valve-'seat s engagesthe threads on t e interior of the outer end of the ni le 'p' and formsa seat for the valve s. The cap s2 iits over the screw down onto the niing the openings w', t e lower end of-said -Vvalve-seat s and is screweddown onto the nipple, said cap` having a'handl'c sal Afstop s4 regulatesythe downward movement of the valve s. The air and liquid are introducedthrough this opening g, as -willmore fully hereinafter appear.

For the purpose morel'ully hereinafter set vfortl'ilprcwide theextinguisher with asafetyf valve, which is 'const cted inthe following.

manner: A nipple t, having the annular iiange't engaging with theinnerface of the place by means of the' jam-nut t3. Solderis then placedaround the flange t. l This nipple has' the small passage-way t*,-anclconnnu'nily v'eating `with said passage-way is the tube u, ...which isscrewed tothe inner end of said nip,-

ple, being sweated therein, and which extends elow thel liquid-line. ofthe reservoir. On the outer end of the nipple t and sealed thereon isthe ball-valve, and upon said valve is themetal disk v.- A cage `w -isadapted to e t, said cage hav-f openings when ythe ca e is inclined, asshown, bein at or below the level of the disk, so that any quid esca inwill flow out of the ca e and none will be eft above or around t Y valveand in the ycage to corrode the parts and prevent thev easy and readyautomatic operation of the valve. A spring y is inte between a disk w atthe head of sai cage and the plate o', and a set-screw 'wa engages vwithsaid head andl disk 'w to adjust said liquid-level in the tank the tubeuemay be dispensed with and the valvecornmunicate directly with theliquid.

The operation of my improved extinuisher is as follows: The valve mhaving een seated by the rod e, a force-pump is adjusted to theopeningg, the cap s3 having been removed, and air is then pumped intosaid opening, forcin dqwn the valve s 'and forcin the air into tie emptyvessel through the tue p. This column of' airis then compressed byintroducing the li uid by the same plump until a compression di theaircolumn represents the pressure the extinguisher is to be chargedwith. The pump is then removed, when the check-valve s will resume 'itsseat to prevent the escape of the liquid, and the cap sa' is adjustedvto place. It will be observed that by extending the tubes c u to apointbelow the liquid-line, as there 1s no possibility of the air coniinedabove the liquid escaping through the joints at the openings a/ g t2,owing to the manner in which said joints are constructed, it would haveto pass down through the liquid andup the said tubes; Abut these tubesare alsoY filled with liquid, so that any connections made IOO IOS v IIO' the pump-barrel.

with the reservoir are liquid-joints-that is, joints to prevent theescape of liquid and not to prevent the escape of air, which ispractically impossible to do. The piston-rod is brought to the positionshown in Fig. 1 by being screwed down until the concave se at on thepiston fits down over and engages with the convex ortion of the valve,the shape of the seat and the valve insuring the engagement of thepiston and valve in such a manner that when the piston-rod or stem isturned thevalve also will be turned. Tf now it is desired to use theextinguisher, the pistonrod being in the position shown in Fig. 1, saidrod is given a series of turns by means of the handle to release thepiston from the threads e2 of the air-chamber d, when the piston-rod isin position for elevation. This turning of the piston-rod with thecorrugations on its cancave seat in engagement with the 'corrugations ofthe convex portion of the valve will cause the said valve to turn on itsseat, and so free said valve from any, binding action which may havebeen caused by corrosion or other cause, and thus permit the compressedair above the liquid-lineto force the liquid up through the valve to thepump-barrel and thence to the outlet-port d3.

ln order to provide for as cheap a pump as possible in this class ofire-extineuishers, you are naturally limited in the weig t ofthe tubingemployed in such pump, and while kgreat care is taken in making suchtubing it has been found almost impossible to get a erfect straight andtrue piston Aand pumparrel at all times, in which case the pump wouldwork very sti' or not at all by reason of binding or sticking oftheparts on account or such discrepancies or imperfections in the tubing.Tt will also be seen that when the pis ton is shut down on the valvetight enough to hold back the pressure of one hundred and fifty poundsof air in the reservoir such piston will soring to one side or theother, and if the vessel is not used soon after it is charged the pistontakes a set by reason of such springing out, and then there would bedifficulty in moving said piston-rod up and down through the chamber ofthe pump and piston through Therefore in order to overcome thesedifficulties in operating the pump the universal-joint connection 1,connecting the piston-rod with the piston by the movable "rt 3, willprovide a form of a rigid joint, as it were, but will allow thepiston-rod m side to side in one direction and move from side to side inthe oop c. irection, thereby permitting a itzy-crooked tube to be usedin makinor 'the pump parts. When the piston is seate on the valve, itwill take a straight position on it by reason of the movable jointconnection between thebistou and piston-rod, and without such con "on orprovision it would be f cmg these into position where they would stay,so that when you desire 'to use the pump it would be practically uselessby reason of its working very stiff or failure to work at all. It willalso be seen that the pump is always in readiness to be employed in casethe pressure of the air within the reservoir is not sufficient todischarge the liquid with force enough to carry it the distance desired,and by the form of connection between the piston and the valve 'theengagement of the one with the other is always insured upon the loweringof the piston, no matter whether the valve has been turned around.during the operation or whether it rocks or leans to one side, as thepiston will come down straight, and guided y the pump-barrel theengagement is always perfect and the pump operative at all times throughthe joint connection.

It is well known that air has expansive properties which under certainconditions may become dangerous or destructive to the tank. Forinstance, if the extinguisher be filled two-thirds full of liquid andthe remaining space is occupied by air at the pressure of one hundredand fiity pounds and this pressure putin at zero temperature and if theextinguisher be brought into a lace where the temperature is heated to alligh degree a very great increase in pressure would belthe result. Tfone of the extinguishers were in an overheated room where it would besubjected to sufficient heat, an explosion or bursting of theextinguisher might take lace and in any event a great strain on al thejoints and fittings would occur, which would gradually develop intoleaks. In my improved extinguisher in case the pressure becomes toogreat the liquid will be forced up through the tube u and out throughthe opening in the nipple t, the pressure acting to compress the springy and force the disks v v beyond the openings in the cage w to permitthey escape of the liquid. In addition to its function as a safety-valveit has also the further important function in the fact that it serves asa detector in case of overpressure. Instead of simply permitting theescape of part of the air because the pipe leading to the valve extendsbelow the liquid-line it is evident that only liquid can escape fromthis pipe, and the liquid escaping will at once ive notice of thereduction of pressure in the e-extinguisher, when it can be tested todetermine whether it is necessary to recharge it or to increase theair-pressure therein. This is important inv connection withfire-extinguishers; which must always be in roper condition for use andwhich might be a `ected from change of temperature to such an extent asto at least seriously reduce the pressure. As soon as the pressure hasbeen reduced by the esca e of the liquid the o ening in the ni ple wilbe closed again. this niannert e danger of the bursting or other IOO IXO

and provided With oorrugations for engaging With the oorrugations onsaid Veve and e joint member between said rod and piston and looselyconnected thereto by joints et i5 injurious effect to theextinguisher isavoided and notice is given by the. pressure of the liquid or the tracesofthe same on the outside of the extinguisher that something may beWrong. right angles to each other.

What I claim as my invention, and desire l In testimony whereof I, theseid HARRY E. to securel by Letters Patent, is- SAFFORD, have hereuntoset my hand.

In a nre-extinguisher, the combination of HARRY E. SAFFURD. e tank'having a valve in the escape-tube Witnesses:

thereof and Provided with oorrugations there- J. N. COOKE, on, a controling-rod having a piston thereon I R. H. AXTHELM..

